BOWLING GREEN, Fla. - After four long days, and seven rounds of golf, on the Black Course at Streamsong Resort, Brian Keenan was able to navigate his way through the bracket to claim the Senior Amateur Match Play Championship.
Stroke Play Seeding Rounds
The large and undulating greens at the Black Course, which plays as a par-73, combined with the blistering heat made for two difficult rounds of golf for the Championship field. Just four players competed the two stroke-play-seeding rounds with cumulative scores under-par. R J Nakashian, of Palm Beach Gardens, and Chad Ibbotson, of Sanford, earned co-medalist honors after shooting scores of 2-under par, 144. Don Whittemore, of Temple Terrace, and William Mallon, of Vero Beach, would round out the top-four seeds in the match play bracket with two-day total scores of 1-under par, 145.
Match Play Rounds
As the Championship shifted to its match-play stage, the momentum gained by players who earned a top seed during the stroke-play-seeding rounds carried over into their matches. Just three players (Ken Palladino, Mike Riley, and Cory Walker) were able to pull off upsets in the Round of 32, while no player seeded 10th or better failed to advance to the next round. Riley and Richard Kepper played the longest match of the Championship during the Round of 32, finishing in 24 holes. In the Round of 16, the top-seeded players continued to perform up to expectations as just two of the top-eight seeded players did not advance to the Quarterfinals. Co-medalist R J Nakashian and eighth-seeded Glen Przybylski faced off in the Quarterfinals with neither player having reached the 16th hole in either of their two previous matches. The two most dominant players of the Championship to that point proved to be worthy competitors as Nakashian would go on to win 1 up after staving off a late comeback attempt from Przybylski. 6th-seeded Brian Keenan, 10th-seeded Douglas Jones, and 12th-seeded Paul Royak also advanced into the Semifinals after completing upsets of the other three top-4 seeds in the Quarterfinals, setting up for an exciting final day of the Championship. In the Semifinals, Nakashian defeated Royak 3 & 2 and Keenan defeated Jones in 19 holes. This set up a final match between Nakashian, a six-time FSGA champion competing in his first FSGA event as a senior, and Keenan, a five-time FSGA champion.
Finals
At 12:25 PM on Thursday afternoon, the sun was blazing and the humidity was high as the two finalists teed it up to compete for the title of Senior Amateur Match Play Champion. With it being their seventh round of golf in the span of four days, both competitors were well aware of the intricacies of the Black Course at Streamsong Resort, meaning no hole would be easy to win. Early on in the match, it was made clear both players belonged in the Finals. After Keenan took an early lead with a birdie on the par-5 first hole, both finalists would birdie the par-4 third hole and par-5 fourth hole. Keenan then birdied his third consecutive hole to take a two-hole lead. For the next eight holes, Nakashian and Keenan would match each other shot-for-shot as Keenan maintained a two-hole lead through 13 holes.
On the short, par-4 14th hole, Nakashian hit the green with his tee shot and two-putted for birdie to take the hole, and diminish his deficit to just one. Later, on the par-4 16th hole, both golfers hit the green in two shots. After Nakashian sank an eight-foot putt for birdie, Keenan missed a five-footer for birdie, and the match was tied for the first time since the players teed off on the first hole. On the par-3 17th hole, a poor first putt from Nakashian would prove costly as Keenan was able to quickly regain the lead with a par. Then, on the par-5 18th hole, both players drove their ball in the fairway and were looking to reach the green in two. Nakashian, knowing he had to win the hole to extend the match, was first to hit his second shot. From 255 yards away, the Palm Beach Gardens native was able to stick it to 15 feet, giving him an excellent look at an eagle. Keenan, hitting his second shot from 230 yards, hit the green as well, but had a complicated, 45-foot putt left in front of him. The Tampa native stepped up, made his stroke, and watched the putt travel all the way into the hole for a walk-off eagle. After a long and grueling week of golf, Keenan emerged with his sixth FSGA Championship and the title of Senior Amateur Match Play Champion.
